Demyx's Heart
by ElegantButler
Summary: A chance meeting saves Demyx's life.
1. Chapter 1

**DEMYX'S HEART**

By

Disclaimer: KH2 and its characters do not belong to me. Mizu does.

-Chapter One-

Sora, Donald and Goofy fought their way through a sea of Heartless and some of the lesser Nobodies as they made their way through Radiant Garden on their way to Ansem's fortress. As they finished off the last heartless, a girl ran up to them. She was panting, heavily, as if she had been running a great distance.

"Sora!" she called. "Sora!"

"Who are you?" Sora asked. "How do you know my name?"

"Never mind that," she replied. "I need to know something. Have you…?"

But before she could finish, a glowing symbol appeared on the ground. She smiled and looked up, seeing a young man about her age standing there in a black coat.

"You guys are looking lively," he said, smiling pleasantly at them.

Sora started to speak, but the girl silenced him. "Let me talk to him," she said. "You'll just end up being rude and getting into a fight."

The girl approached the blond man, fearlessly.

"Wait!" Sora called out. "He's dangerous!"

The girl turned to face Sora. "So are you."

The girl turned back to the blond and smiled.

"Demyx," she said, softly. "It's alright. I'm here, now. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

"Who said anything about being afraid?"

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," the girl told him. "Everyone in the Organization except for Axel is afraid of Xemnas."

"Axel isn't afraid of anything," Demyx smiled. "But…"

"Get away from him!" Sora called out. "He's not afraid of anything alright, just like he said."

"Right," Goofy agreed. "Because he doesn't have a heart."

"I do, too, have a heart!" Demyx shouted at them.

"You tell 'em, Demyx!" the girl cheered.

"Who are you, anyhow?" Demyx asked, studying her closely.

"Name's Mizu," the girl told him. "Please join us?"

"Is she kidding?" Sora asked. "The last thing we need is to waste our time babysitting some scaredy-cat Nobody."

"Sora!" Mizu called back. "Stop being rude!"

"Get away from him!" Donald warned. "He's going to steal your heart."

"That's impossible," Mizu called back. She turned and looked at Demyx, her eyes meeting his. "It already belongs to him."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy blinked.

"Go ahead, Demyx," Mizu whispered. "Take my heart. It belongs to you. Take it for yourself. Not for Xemnas. Not for Kingdom Hearts. For you. And promise me one thing. Once my heart is yours, join with Sora and the others. Only you can save him."

"I don't need saving," Sora complained.

"I didn't mean you," Mizu shot back. "Please, Demyx. You're the only one who can do it. Promise me you will."

Demyx nodded.

Mizu smiled. "Now, kiss me, Demyx."

Demyx took Mizu in his arms and touched his lips to hers. As they stood there like that, Demyx felt her heart transfer into his body. He suddenly felt truly alive for the first time since he had been 'born'. He looked down at Mizu who suddenly fell limp in his arms.

"No," he whispered. "Don't die! Please, don't leave me!"

"He stole her heart," Sora accused.

"No he didn't," Goofy corrected him. "She gave her heart to him; freely and willingly. I think we should honor her last wish and let him join us."

Sora let out a long breath and nodded.

"What did she mean when she said he was the only one who could save him?" Donald asked. "Save who?"

"I guess we'll have to find out," Sora shrugged.


	2. Chapter 2

**DEMYX'S HEART**

By

Disclaimer: KH2 and its characters do not belong to me. Mizu does.

-Chapter Two-

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Demyx were sitting in Merlin's house a couple of hours later. Demyx had tears in his eyes. He missed Mizu very much, though he had known her only for a few minutes.

"She's gone," he whispered. "And I never had a chance to know her. Why did she...?"

"She wanted you to save someone," Sora pointed out. "Who? I don't know. But I have the feeling that the answer is not on this world."

"Then let's move to the next world," Demyx suggested.

"We'll see you when you return," Aerith smiled. "And Demyx. If you don't have anywhere else to go, you're welcome to stay with us."

"Thank you," Demyx smiled.

They made their way to the gummi ship and got in. Cid had modified the ship to fit four people so that Demyx would be able to travel with them. They had planned, originally, to meet him there, but quickly discovered that he could no longer use the dark portals the Organization used to move from world to world.

"Demyx is no longer a member of Organization XIII," King Mickey had explained to them. "They've closed the doors to him."

They climbed into the gummi ship and departed from Radiant Garden.

"Where to now?" Sora asked.

"Look," Donald pointed. "Twilight Town is back!"

"Let's go there, then," Sora decided. "It'll be good to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette again."

Donald and Goofy both nodded in agreement.

Sora turned the gummi ship toward Twilight Town.

"Well, here we are," Sora said when they finally arrived at Twilight Town.

They climbed out of the gummi ship. Demyx stretched a bit. "Next time we said Cid, remind him that I'm taller than you guys, okay?"

Sora smiled, then motioned for Demyx and the others to follow him.

They walked through the streets until they reached an open lot.

"Hey," Sora laughed. "Looks like we're just in time to watcher Hayner and Seifer face each other in a Struggle contest."

They watched the contest until it ended.

"Winner! Hayner!" the referee announced, eliciting a cheer from the crowd.

"Hey, Hayner," Sora said as he joined him after he stepped down from the arena. "Not too shabby."

"Thanks," Hayner smiled. "Hey, who's your new friend? Is that Riku?"

"Nah," Sora shook his head. "This is Demyx. He's the newest member of our team."

"Nice to meet ya, Demyx," Hayner said, waving cheerfully. "These are my two best friends, Pence and Olette."

"It's good to meet you," Demyx replied.

"And you," Pence agreed. "Hey, are you with the redhead?"

"Axel," Sora said, quietly.

"Yeah, that's him," Hayner nodded. "He didn't stay long. Said he was looking forward to seeing you again."

"I wonder if that's who Mizu meant when she said she wanted me to save him?" Demyx wondered aloud.

"Save Axel?" Sora wondered. "From what?"

"I guess we'll find out when the time comes," Goofy offered.

"So, where do we go from here?" Demyx asked.

"At a wild guess," Sora mused, "I think our best bet would be to search the old Mansion."

"Agreed," Donald nodded.

"That is where you woke up," Goofy agreed. "We should be able to find out something about that Xemnas guy that everyone keeps talking about."

"Everyone from the Organization you mean," Demyx pointed out. "Even they fear him. Especially me. If I were you, I'd stay as far away from Xemnas as possible."

They made their way to the abandoned Mansion. Once they were inside, they found a couple dozen Heartless and lesser Nobodies creeping around inside.

Demyx summoned his Sitar and created a number of water clones. While the clones were battling the Heartless, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Demyx made their way past them. Demyx was the last through the door. When it closed, the water-clones vanished, leaving the room empty.

They made their way into the basement library. They found a portal standing there, still open.

"Shall we see where it goes to?" Sora suggested.

"We're taking a big risk if we do," Demyx pointed out. "But if we don't, we'll still be taking a big risk."

"So, what do you think we should do?" Donald asked, crossly.

"It's up to Sora," Demyx replied.

When Donald and Goofy turned to face Sora, Demyx stuck his tongue out at Donald.

"Follow me," Sora beckoned as he made his way through the portal.

Donald, Goofy, and Demyx followed him in.

"Better keep moving," a familiar voice warned, "or the Darkness will overtake... Demyx? What are you doing here?"

"Axel," Demyx smiled as Axel appeared in front of them. "Good to see you again!"

Demyx hugged Axel who blinked in surprise. This was not the normal greeting Nobodies gave each other.

"Demyx?" Axel blinked.

Demyx took Axel's hand and guided it to his chest.

Axel's eyes went wide as he felt the steady beat of Demyx's new heart.

"You... you have..."

Demyx nodded.

Axel turned to Sora. "I..." he began. But he was interrupted by the arrival of several dozen lesser Nobodies.

Axel, Demyx, and Sora summoned their weapons. At least Axel and Sora summoned weapons. Whether or not a sitar could be considered a weapon was up for debate.

The five friends made short work of their enemies. Then Axel caught his breath and began to speak.

"I kid..." he began.

"Shh," Demyx hushed him. "It's alright, Axel."

"But..." Axel tried again. "I..."

"Whatever you might have done wrong, you can apologize for it after we deal with Xemnas." Sora told him.

"We?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Me, Donald, Goofy, Demyx, and you," Sora explained.

"You want me to join you?" Axel asked.

"You're pretty good in a fight," Goofy told him.

Donald, Sora, and Demyx all nodded in agreement.

They were just about to shake hands when more Assassins suddenly surrounded them.

"Leave us alone!" Sora shouted at them.

"I'll handle these punks," Axel said, summoning his chakrams.

"Not alone, you won't." Demyx added, summoning his sitar.

They jumped into the middle of the large mass of Assassins and stood there, back to back.

"On the count of three," Axel smiled over his shoulder at his friend. "One... two...three!"

The two of them released a joint attack against the Assassins. Axel sending out a shockwave of flames, which was followed by a shockwave of water sent by Demyx.

The Assassins vanished and Axel and Demyx both sank to the ground, exhausted.

"You okay, Axel?" Demyx asked.

"Yeah," Axel panted. "Just let me catch my breath. How about you?"

"I'm fine," Demyx smiled.

"You guys were pretty cool," Sora laughed. Then he added under his breath. "Look who I'm talking to."

"Demyx and I make a really good team," Axel agreed.

"So where to now?" Sora asked.

"To the World That Never Was," Axel replied, opening a portal. "It's time to face Xemnas and put an end to his plans once and for all."

Axel stood up and helped Demyx to his feet. Each looked into the other's eyes for a moment, and Demyx felt himself blush.

"It's time for us to face our former boss," Axel told Demyx. "Are you ready?"

Demyx nodded. "As long as you're with me, I'll be alright."

The five friends turned toward Axel's portal and made their way to the World That Never Was.


	3. Chapter 3

**DEMYX'S HEART**

By

Disclaimer: KH2 and its characters do not belong to me. Mizu does.

-Chapter Three-

Demyx and Axel followed Sora, Donald and Goofy through the World That Never Was. What they didn't know was that neither of them had been meant to be there. A single moment of pity had saved Demyx and Demyx had, unknowingly, saved Axel. Now they were there with the others for two reasons. The first and most important was to find the young man named Riku, a good friend of Sora's who had been lost to the Darkness. The second reason was to find and destroy Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII, the secretive group to which Axel and Demyx had both once belonged.

Riku had been secretly helping Sora and his friends since the beginning; giving a hand up in the toughest of situations, then disappearing as silently as a shadow.

They knew, somehow, that they would find Riku here. But it was to be in a way that none of them could ever imagine.

Having battled about a thousand Heartless and almost as many lesser Nobodies, they finally reached the Castle That Never Was. They entered the Castle carefully, making sure to first gather as many items that they would need to survive. Then they made their way to the pinnacle.

They had reached the Hall of Empty Melodies when a gunshot barely missed Sora.

"Rats!" a voice cursed from above them.

"Sheesh, Xigbar. What are you trying to do?" Demyx exclaimed. "You nearly killed him."

"Demyx and Axel," Xigbar snarled. "I knew you two were traitors."

"You'd be a traitor, too, if you knew what Xemnas really wants."

"I'm loyal to the Organization," Xigbar said, firmly.

"We used to be loyal to it as well," Axel replied. "I gave up that loyalty when Xemnas ordered me to murder my best friend."

"And I gave it up after he tried to get me killed." Demyx added.

"It's no surprise he tried to bump you off," Xigbar told Demyx. "You always were a weakling."

"I am _not_ weak!" Demyx protested, summoning his sitar and beginning to play, crying out: "Dance water! Dance!"

At the same time, Axel summoned his chakrams with a battle-cry of "Burn, baby!"

Their attacks combined into a dozen water-clones, each wielding a pair of chakrams made up of boiling water with hot steam issuing from the points that decorated the edge.

The water-clones attacked Xigbar, circling him and drawing closer until they were close enough to dive down into his throat, burning it as they drowned him.

With Xigbar out of the way, they made their way forward to the Proof of Existence room.


	4. Chapter 4

**DEMYX'S HEART**

By

Disclaimer: KH2 and its characters do not belong to me. Mizu does.

-Chapter Four-

The way to the Proof of Existence room was not as heavily laden with Heartless as the rest of the Castle had been so far. Perhaps it was because nobody was expected to get past Xigbar. In fact _two_ Nobodies had gotten past him, along with a trio consisting of a Keyblade wielder, a talking duck, and a bipedal dog of some kind.

When they got there, they could go no further. Two gates were open and undamaged.

"There are two members of the Organization hidden behind these gates," Axel warned. "We must proceed with great caution."

"Can't you just sneak us past them?" Sora asked.

"I doubt it," Axel admitted. "Yesterday I probably could have. But I've defied them too many times. I'm lucky they haven't managed to turn me into a Dusk or something."

"And I'm somewhere on Xemnas's hit list," Demyx added, "so I'm no help either. Sorry."

"So, who do we battle first?" Goofy asked.

"Saïx," Axel replied. "The Luna Diviner."

"Let's go, then," Sora decided.

They slipped through the Luna Diviner gate and found themselves face to face with Saïx. The Luna Diviner was gazing up at the Kingdom Hearts moon with an enraptured look on his face.

"Kingdom Hearts," he prayed, "give me a heart! Let me be whole once more!" He closed his eyes and waited patiently. But there was no change in him. He still felt nothing but the cold emptiness he had always felt since his birth as a Nobody.

"You won't get one that way, Saïx," Demyx said, gently. "There's only one way to get a heart, and that's to have someone love you."

"How would you know?" Saïx demanded.

Demyx walked over to Saïx, took his hand, and placed it on his chest.

"How is that possible?" Saïx asked. "How did you get a heart?"

"I've always had a fragment of my own heart, even as a Nobody. But it was made whole again by a young woman named Mizu."

"You're telling me that if I find someone who loves me, I'll get a heart?" Saïx asked.

"There's no guarantee of it," Demyx admitted. "But it is your best bet."

Saïx lifted his head up again.

"Thank you, Kingdom Hearts, for your messenger Demyx," he said, as he opened a portal and stepped through it.

"I hope it works," Axel told Demyx. "If he comes back without finding the right person, he's gonna be on you like butter on a biscuit."

"Butter on a biscuit?" Sora asked.

"You got a problem with biscuits?" Axel asked.

"Nope," Sora grinned.

"Then let's get out of here," Axel said, firmly. "We all have another gate to enter before we can head up to the Altar of Naught. And the Gambler of Fate won't be as easy to deal with as Saïx was."


	5. Chapter 5

**DEMYX'S HEART**

By

Disclaimer: KH2 and its characters do not belong to me. Mizu does.

-Chapter Five

-

Sora made his way carefully through the portal which had been labeled "The Gambler of Fate" followed by Donald, Goofy, Axel and Demyx.

Luxord didn't waste any time. Before anyone could make a move, he had carded Demyx, quite literally and set him into a circle of cards around himself.

"Axel," Sora began.

"I can't set a burn spell on the cards," Axel replied, guessing at Sora's idea. "I might hurt Demyx. Or worse."

"Rats!" Sora exclaimed "So, what do we do, then?"

"Wait," Axel replied. "He can't attack us while the cards are in the way."

One of the cards began to move at random, moving away from the rapidly spinning circle. When it was out of the way, Axel checked it to see which card had acted so irrationally. He hoped it was who he thought it might be. Sure enough, he could see Demyx's image imprinted on the card. With his friend safely out of the way, he attacked the remaining cards with a flame attack.

The cards burned into nothingness, but Luxord wasn't done just yet. He still had another trick up his sleeve.

Before anyone could make their next move, he transformed them into dice and made his way up the steps that loomed ahead of them. They followed, rolling themselves as well as could be managed. It took several minutes for the dice spell to wear off. When it did, Sora, Axel, and Demyx found themselves at the top of a tall tower. With a loud battle cry, Axel grabbed Sora and Demyx by the hands and dove off the tower, directly at Luxord, who was running up the building readying his next attack.

"AXEL! YOU…." The rest of Demyx's sentence was cut off by Luxord's yelp of surprise as they met halfway up the building.

"You know," Sora commented as they reached the steps and it was Luxord's turn to leap from the tower as they raced up it with their weapons drawn, "this seems awfully familiar to me somehow."

Demyx went over to Donald and Goofy and helped them to their feet. They had only just recovered from being carded.

"You guys okay?" he asked.

Donald nodded.

"Yup," Goofy agreed.

"Great," Demyx smiled. "Now we'll be ready as soon as the others have finished. Which should be just about…"

There was a cry of defeat from Luxord.

"… now."


	6. Chapter 6

**DEMYX'S HEART**

By

Disclaimer: KH2 and its characters do not belong to me. Mizu does.

-Chapter Six-

The group made their way up to the top of the tower and stopped to catch their breath, well, in Sora's case anyway. They looked up and saw the gigantic heart that was Kingdom Hearts.

"Hey, did it always have a gigantic hole in the middle?" Demyx asked.

"Not that I can remember," Axel answered.

"That would be Ansem the Wise's doing."

Sora, Demyx, Axel, Goofy, and Donald turned and saw Kairi and Riku standing there. Sora couldn't help but notice how much Riku had matured. His hair was longer, his eyes were a deeper blue and he was definitely taller than Sora was... okay, almost everybody was taller than Sora...but, that point aside...

Riku saw how Sora was looking at him and guessed his friend's response.

"We'll get down to formal introductions later...right now, we have to deal with Xemnas."

Sora flushed crimson and nodded, looking away hurriedly when the others started to stare.

"Somebody in love?" Axel teased.

"Oh, you've got room to talk," Donald quacked.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Unless I didn't really see you making eyes at Demyx."

"Of course I was making eyes at Demyx," Axel retorted. "I'm a man of great taste."

Demyx blushed.

"So, what do we do about Xemnas?"

"Riku and I can handle him," Sora decided. "Somehow, I think that was how it was meant to be."

Demyx nodded. "Just whistle if you need us."

"What are you gonna do, you wimp?" Donald asked. "Beg Xemnas to join us in peaceful coexistence?"

"I am a pacifist as a rule," Demyx admitted. "But there are exceptions to every rule."

"Where you go, I follow," Axel told Demyx. "I won't let you face death alone."

"But we don't go until we're summoned," Demyx agreed. "Let's have faith in our friends."

"You really think Sora can take on Xemnas?" Axel wondered.

"Not alone," King Mickey admitted. "But Riku's power is legendary. He'll be able to help Sora."


	7. Chapter 7

**DEMYX'S HEART**

By

Disclaimer: KH2 and its characters do not belong to me. Mizu does.

-Chapter Seven-

The initial two fights with Xemnas had gone smoothly. But now Riku and Sora had been separated by their enemy's cunning. Riku gave a whistle and leapt into action, determined to rescue Sora while Axel and Demyx distracted Xemnas.

Sora watched from his prison as Demyx and Axel made their appearance. He wondered how they would outfox a man who knew their every move. As he watched, Demyx began to play his sitar. But no water clones appeared. Instead, Axel began to perform a perfect strip-tease.

"I can't believe he's doing that!" Sora blurted out.

Xemnas turned to see what Sora was looking at and his jaw dropped all the way to the floor.

While Xemnas was watching Axel, and earning a steady death-glare from Demyx that was so rare it would have netted him over a million dollars if he could've found a way to sell it somehow, Riku managed to get past him and pull Sora from his captivity and slash at Xemnas with his Keyblade, knocking him to the ground.

Axel stepped forward, dressed in a pair of tight black denim shorts with flames decorating the sides and stepped on Xemnas's hand before he could stand.

"You're time as leader of Organization XIII is at an end," the redhead told his former master. "It is time for someone who has the best interests of the Organization to take command."

"And I suppose you think you fit that descript…" Xemnas began, falling silent when Axel gave him a kick upside the head.

"Long Live Demyx!" Axel cried out, having his own ideas as to who would best lead the new Organization.

Unexpectedly, Roxas stepped forward as well. "All hail Demyx! The new and greatly beloved leader of Organization XIII!"


	8. Chapter 8

**DEMYX'S HEART**

By

Disclaimer: KH2 and its characters do not belong to me. Mizu does.

-Chapter Eight-

As the darkness faded around them, the five heroes found themselves standing on a dark beach in a lonely twilight world.

"Back in the darkness," Demyx sighed. "I was hoping for a better life for those of us who remain. But I suppose even this is better than slipping into the void and fading into nothingness."

"I don't know…" Riku lamented. "I sometimes think that it would be better to fade back into the darkness than live like this."

"Riku," Sora begged, "You can't fade. I won't let you. I… I love you, Riku."

"Sora…" Riku began. "I…"

"Shh," Sora whispered. "Riku, hush. I know you've never felt that anyone ever really cared. But that's not true. Kairi and I both care about you. Kairi looks up to you like a big brother, and I…"

"You what, Sora?" Riku asked.

Sora decided to go for broke.

"I know this isn't the best place or time to ask such a question, but…"

Riku stared as Sora dropped down to his knees and took his hand once more.

"Will you marry me, Riku?" the younger Keyblade master asked the older and stronger one.

Riku nodded. "Yes, Sora."

"Demyx?" Axel was asking, in anxious amusement. "Demyx? Can you hear me? Demyx?"

"What happened to him?" Sora asked Roxas.

"Axel just proposed to him," Roxas explained.


End file.
